标签： Antigua and Barbuda

Four days of intensive multilateral negotiations in London concluded with a landmark milestone for the 2026 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), as senior diplomats and Commonwealth leadership have widely hailed the skilled chairmanship of Antigua and Barbuda’s Foreign Affairs, Trade and Immigration Minister E.P. Chet Greene, who also leads the CHOGM 2026 Task Force.

Scheduled to run from November 1 to 4, 2026, the 28th CHOGM will be hosted by the Caribbean island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, bringing together heads of government from all 56 Commonwealth member states to align collective policy priorities and advance shared action. The Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) that gathered in London serves as a critical early step in the summit’s organizing process, bringing together delegations from every member nation to finalize core outcome document text and set the official meeting agenda.

At the heart of the PrepCom’s work was the negotiation of the meeting’s foundational communiqué. This draft document acts as the starting point for all summit deliberations, allowing member states to refine proposed policy language, align overlapping priorities, and map out the overall policy trajectory for the 2026 gathering. It provides the framework for member governments to build consensus on shared commitments to address transnational issues of mutual concern, with the end goal of producing a final communiqué that reflects the unified voice, core values, and collective priorities of the entire Commonwealth bloc.

Over four days of in-depth, solution-focused discussions, delegations worked through a full slate of key Commonwealth priority areas, ultimately reaching agreement to adopt the Final Draft Communiqué. The successful adoption marks a major milestone in the entire CHOGM 2026 preparatory process, underscoring the widespread commitment across member states to building consensus on the core themes and outcomes that will guide head-of-government deliberations when the summit kicks off in Antigua and Barbuda.

Both the Commonwealth Secretariat and representatives from across member states have issued public commendation for Greene’s steady, inclusive, and results-oriented leadership throughout the negotiations. Officials noted that his balanced approach kept dialogue constructive across all sessions, encouraged flexibility from competing delegations, and steered talks toward a fair, inclusive outcome rooted in collective consensus rather than division.

In response to the praise, Greene extended his own commendation to all participating delegations for the spirit of cross-border cooperation, mutual respect, and constructive diplomacy they brought to the negotiating table throughout the four-day process.

The finalized draft communiqué will now move through formal Commonwealth procedural steps ahead of the 2026 summit, which will bring heads of government together under the official theme “Accelerating Partnerships and Investment for a Prosperous Commonwealth.”
Beyond the core PrepCom negotiations, Greene maintained a full schedule of complementary official engagements during his time in London. He hosted a dedicated roundtable with private sector business leaders to build momentum for the upcoming Commonwealth Business Forum, one of four official official side forums that will run alongside the 2026 summit alongside the Women’s Forum, People’s Forum, and Youth Forum. He also held productive meetings with Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey, and conducted a bilateral discussion with Chris Elmore, the United Kingdom’s Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Multilateral Affairs, Human Rights, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Greene received consistent support from a team of Antigua and Barbuda diplomatic officials throughout all London engagements, including High Commissioner Karen-Mae Hill, Minister Counsellor Chantal Phillip, Second Secretary Brent Scotland, and Third Secretary Caleb Gardiner. As the host nation, Antigua and Barbuda continues to maintain close collaborative working relationships with the Commonwealth Secretariat and all member states to ensure CHOGM 2026 delivers meaningful, practical, and forward-looking outcomes that deliver value to all 56 Commonwealth nations.

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has expanded its roster of associate members, marking a new milestone in the regional bloc’s decades-long integration project. Martinique has formally joined as the seventh associate member of the bloc, with its membership taking full effect on June 16, 2026.

The path to Martinique’s accession stretches back more than a year. In February 2025, regional leaders signed the agreement granting Martinique associate membership status. The process reached its final stage in June 2026, when the Government of the French Republic officially submitted the required Instrument of Accession to CARICOM. This step also cleared the legal hurdle for the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of CARICOM to enter into force, removing all remaining barriers to Martinique’s formal admission.

With its new status confirmed, Martinique is now set to take part in the Fifty-first Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, scheduled to run from July 5 to 8 in Saint Lucia. This participation will give the new associate member an early voice in shaping the regional bloc’s ongoing policy and cooperation priorities.

To understand the significance of this expansion, it is important to contextualize CARICOM’s history and mission. Founded on July 4, 1973, through the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas, the regional community revised its founding agreement in 2001 to lay the groundwork for a unified single market and economy. Prior to Martinique’s admission, the bloc counted 15 full member states and six associate members, serving a total population of roughly 16 million people. Notably, 60% of CARICOM’s population is under the age of 30, giving the bloc a distinctly young demographic profile.

CARICOM’s work is structured around four core pillars: deepening economic integration across the region, coordinating collective foreign policy for member states, advancing human and social development, and strengthening cross-border security cooperation. The bloc’s overarching vision is to build a unified, inclusive, and resilient community powered by knowledge, innovation, excellence, and productivity. It aims to stand as a competitive, cohesive force in the global economy, where every citizen enjoys security, equal access to opportunity, guaranteed human rights, and social justice, and can share in the community’s collective economic, social, and cultural prosperity.

Widely recognized as one of the most successful examples of regional integration among developing nations, CARICOM maintains its central administrative body, the CARICOM Secretariat, headquartered in Georgetown, Guyana. Martinique’s admission is the latest step in the bloc’s gradual expansion, reflecting ongoing demand for deeper cooperation across the Caribbean region.

Against a backdrop of rising violent and petty crime trends across the Caribbean, Prime Minister Gaston Browne has publicly reaffirmed that Antigua and Barbuda continues to rank among the region’s safest nations for both locals and international visitors.

Speaking during an appearance on the local Brown and Brown Show this past Sunday, the country’s leader emphasized that upholding public security is a non-negotiable top priority for his administration, a commitment tied directly to protecting the island nation’s reputation as a desirable place to live and travel. “I want to make sure that Antigua and Barbuda remains safe,” Browne stated clearly during the interview.

Browne did not shy away from acknowledging the homicides that have already occurred in Antigua and Barbuda in 2024, noting that as the country reaches the midpoint of the year, the total number of fatal violent incidents stands at four. When put in regional context, however, Browne argued that the nation’s homicide rate remains far lower than most of its neighbors. “When you look at what is happening in other Caribbean countries within the OECS, we’re doing remarkably well,” he said. “So we’re doing well in the circumstances.”

The prime minister added that nearly all of this year’s killings have grown out of unresolved domestic conflicts, rather than random violent attacks targeting residents or tourists. He used the address to issue a public appeal to all citizens, urging communities to work through disagreements through peaceful dialogue rather than turning to deadly force. “I just want to encourage our people to continue to resolve their conflicts amicably and not to resort to the type of violence that will result in homicides and increase our homicide rates,” he said.

Preserving the public’s sense of safety, Browne stressed, is critical for every group that calls or visits the islands: “Antigua and Barbuda must be safe for the nationals, the citizens, the residents and also for visitors who come to this country. They must feel as though they’re coming to a place where they can enjoy themselves without having to worry about crime and violence.”

Beyond fatal violence, Browne also addressed growing public concern over a recent spike in non-violent petty crime, specifically a rise in street chain-snatching incidents targeting passersby. He confirmed that law enforcement agencies are currently developing targeted intervention strategies to crack down on the perpetrators of these crimes. According to information shared with the prime minister, most of those responsible for the thefts are young people, with a number of the suspects still teenagers.

To address the root causes of youth involvement in crime, Browne highlighted the existing intervention programs run by his administration. In recent years, he said, many young people involved in gang activity have been connected to these programs, which offer vocational skills training to help participants build stable, legal livelihoods and steer clear of criminal activity long-term.

In a public appearance on the Sunday broadcast of the Brown and Brown Show, Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda has issued a stark assessment of the Caribbean nation’s current governing landscape, labeling this moment among the most problematic periods in the country’s modern history. At the core of his concerns is the increasingly confrontational global geopolitical climate, which Browne argues has created uniquely steep barriers for small island developing states working to advance and defend their national interests.

Browne emphasized the severity of the geopolitical headwinds facing his administration, repeating for emphasis that the international operating environment today is outright hostile. For small, economically and politically vulnerable nations like Antigua and Barbuda, he noted, maneuvering through this tense global landscape has become an extraordinary challenge that tests the limits of governing capacity.

Despite these mounting headwinds, Browne reaffirmed that his administration remains unwavering in its commitment to its long-term strategic vision: positioning Antigua and Barbuda as a global “lifestyle superpower” that attracts residents and visitors with its high quality of life, natural beauty, and stable social environment. He added that the government will continue to uphold its core principle of maintaining respectful, constructive diplomatic ties with all international partners, even as it actively advocates to protect Antigua and Barbuda’s sovereignty and long-term safety.

“Our goal is clear: we are making the case consistently to ensure that no actions from outside forces undermine our nation,” Browne said. “I am committed to making certain that Antigua and Barbuda remains a secure place for all who live and visit here.”

Turning to domestic public safety issues, Browne highlighted a key success for the nation: Antigua and Barbuda maintains a far lower homicide rate than many of its regional neighbors, a statistic that underscores its ongoing status as a relatively safe destination for both local residents and international tourists. Addressing recent rising concerns over lower-level street crime, the Prime Minister called on local citizens to pursue peaceful resolutions for personal conflicts, and confirmed that national police forces have ramped up operations to crack down on petty theft. Specifically, he referenced a recent uptick in chain-snatching offenses largely perpetrated by young offenders, noting that targeted interventions are already underway to curb the trend.

Looking ahead, Browne struck a determined tone, emphasizing that the administration would not deviate from its planned path despite the array of challenges it faces. “Challenges will always emerge, and we have faced no shortage of them in recent years,” he said. “But we will continue to put in the work to stay the course and deliver for the people of Antigua and Barbuda.”